'Pink-slip parties': Drink, find a new job

Hunt for work

June 10, 2009|By Jim Stratton, Sentinel Staff Writer

As the nation's unemployment rate rises, booze-fueled job hunting has emerged as a way for laid-off workers to have a little fun, make a few contacts and poke a finger in the eye of the global recession.

Around Florida, job-placement companies have been hosting so-called "pink-slip parties," networking events where people looking for work can get face time with prospective employers.

Held at bars and clubs, the gatherings -- which first appeared after the dot-com bust -- have the same goal as a traditional job fair, but they ooze a decidedly laid-back vibe.

"It's meant to be very casual," said Carlos Gil, the founder of JobsDirectUSA.com. "I compare it to speed dating for people who are looking for work."

Gil's upstart job-resource company has hosted five pink-slip parties around the state and is one of the co-hosts for one scheduled for tonight at Luma on Park in Winter Park. The event is free and will run from 5 to 8 p.m. Organizers expect about 200 people and more than 25 employers to attend.

The events are a lot like any meet-and-greet with one exception: Sponsors hand out bracelets to everyone who attends. People looking for work get a pink bracelet. People looking to hire wear blue. Then, over drinks and appetizers, both look for a match.

"It's smaller than a typical job fair," Gil said. "There's more of a chance for people to talk."

Gil started his site after he was laid off from AIG last fall. With his wife eight months pregnant, the former shoe salesman plunged into the world of online job placement.

Working from his home, he started JobsDirectUSA.com, one of a growing army of sites where people can look for work and companies can look for talent.

"I didn't have many options," said Gil, 25. "So I turned to online networking and found this world of opportunity there."

How well it works for the average job seeker is open for debate. There are so many Web-based career sites, job seekers can get overwhelmed. And many of the smaller players provide access to relatively few openings. For example, a search on JobsDirectUSA.com for all open slots in Orlando produced only three results.

That's because many companies post their openings with other, better-known services such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com. Gil hopes the pink-slip parties will raise the profile of his site.

"It's a work in progress," he said. The parties "are a way for me to meet the companies that are hiring -- to get them to put their jobs on my site."

And as for the alcohol? In a news release, organizers urge attendees to go easy because "you may be speaking to your next boss before the night is over."